Heartless
by order.golden.beak
Summary: AU. They were five children called heartless. They were scattered across the world. The same world that was falling apart. But they would find each other and try to put the pieces back together.
1. Prologue

_Heartless_

My name is Toph Bei Fong. I am a blind, thirteen year old earth bender. The greatest in the world.

My name means supported lotus. I have my parents to thank for that. They think I'm a scared, helpless little girl. My own parents… they don't know me. They never will. Because they have their mind sets, and I know those aren't going to change anytime soon. They won't alter their ways.

And then there are the people who try to know me. But they give up before they make any progress. Those people tell me I'm cold hearted. They say that I'm incapable of feeling.

That I'm heartless.

And maybe I am. Maybe because I've been denied friendship and relationships my entire life, I don't know how to act. I'm sorry I can't find it in myself to pour my eyes out over everything. So, they can go on thinking that I live in a shell. They can think that I'm unbreakable.

Because it's better than them thinking I'm a fragile porcelain doll. I don't need protection. I don't need guidance. I don't need love. Or at least, that is what I tell myself.

All I need- all I want- is freedom.

Freedom.

Of course, I've tried to run away. But the security guards that they have set up around the perimeter of my house make that almost impossible. But I'll escape. Someday, I know I'll be free from this prison my mother and father have encased me in. No walls will be able to hold me. No guards will be able to break my stance. Nothing can break my heart. I know that. And they know that too.

Because you can't break something that's not there.

0.o

My name is Zuko Agni. I am a sixteen year old fire bender. The disgrace of my nation.

I don't actually know what my name means. But considering that it was my father who named me, I wouldn't be surprised if it means failure. My father, who challenged me to an Agni Kai. I was thirteen years old. The scar that adorns my left eye is a permanent reminder of my goal. My drive, my motivation. I need to capture the Avatar. I can't look into the mirror without staring at it. Sometimes I think I'm blinded.

Maybe when I could see clearly out of both of my eyes, I could understand two separate points of view. Maybe I wouldn't do the things I do. I've destroyed towns. I've destroyed families and lives. But I don't care. I'm just hunting for the Avatar. And I will do whatever it takes to find him. Sometimes I ride my motorcycle through towns people yell and tell me I'm evil. They tell me I'm brutal.

That I'm heartless.

But honestly, I'm not sure anymore. I used to know exactly who I was. But now, I'm not so sure. I'm so confused. But I won't ever admit that. No one knows who I really am. No one knows what I've been through. They never think that maybe I'm just a kid. Because that's all I am- just a kid with a bad past. But they don't know that. They won't even consider it.

But I don't care. Just because I'm called a failure, doesn't mean I am one. I'll prove them all wrong.

Because that's what I do: I defy.

0.o

My name is Katara Jala. I am a fourteen year old water bender. The first in ten years.

My name means waterfall. I've always liked my name. Waterfalls are beautiful, serene, calming, peaceful. But they are also strong, powerful… and deadly. My mother died six years ago. She was killed, actually. I was broken.

But I had to put the pieces back together. I have to be strong. For my father. For my brother. And for myself. So I don't cry about anything. Because I'm afraid that if one tear falls, they all will.

So when I have to will myself to not cry when dogs get run over, when people die in front of me, they tell me I'm a horrible person. They tell me that I'm not being strong; they tell me that I'm to weak to feel anything.

That I'm heartless.

I know I have a heart. I wear it on my sleeve. But I think the heart that I use might be a fake one. It's sometimes hard for me to decipher my true feelings and my imaginary ones. But I don't care right now. Maybe someday I'll try to understand myself. Right now I won't though; because there are other things I need to do.

My family has always been there for me. But I want to make a difference. I need to leave and create my own destiny. So I won't be fleeing from anything. I have a direction and a dream. I just don't know what it is. I need to stop the Fire Nation. But I'm just one person, and I don't know what to do.

And until this battle is won, until the world is free, I'll just go on pretending not to feel.

Because sometime not feeling is the only way to survive.

0.o

My name is Sokka Jala. I am a fifteen year old boy… excuse me, man. I have a boomerang.

My name means one who understands. But when I used to go to school, the other kids would make fun of me and call "Sokka sucks!" They thought it was the funniest thing since our teacher fell into a cream pie. Please, my jokes are way funnier. But they didn't laugh at those.

I am incredibly sarcastic. Unfortunately, some people don't understand sarcasm or witty remarks. Especially girls. So sometimes, when I use sarcasm, I get slapped.

Well, that only happened once.

But people who don't think it's funny, or just plain don't get it, think I'm mean. I attribute that to my problem with girls. Not that there's that many girls in my town, but still. So, people don't think call me funny or sardonic. They think that I'm cruel and insensitive.

That I'm heartless.

I have a heart, honest! I just need sarcasm though.

Because humor isn't just my form of speaking. I rely on it. It's my savior. Humor- sarcasm, specifically- is the only possible way I can open my mouth without screaming.

It's hard. My life is hard. I won't even admit that out loud, but my life is no bed of panda lilies.

My mother died when I was nine. It was the most difficult time in my life. I had my sister and my father and my grandma. But it was impossible to replace my mom. No one could be a filler for one of the most important people in my life.

So, I suppose now I want to make a difference. I don't want others to go through the same thing I have. All I know is that I need to do something. I want others to be able to open their mouths without shouting. Maybe I really just want revenge. I hope not. But even if I do, I have good reason.

Because all men kill the thing they hate, unless, of course, it kills them first.

0.o

My name is Aang. I am the last air bender in the world. And the Avatar. The one and only.

My name means coercer of wind. Not very original. I don't have a last name. Or, at least, I don't know it. I've never had parents. And my guardian Gystso was killed along with everyone else. That was last year.

The only thing I can do is run. I've been in the Earth Kingdom for about a year now. Surprisingly, most people are nice to me. To them, I'm just a thirteen year old boy looking for food or a place to stay. They don't know my destiny.

I'm supposed to save the world. I'm supposed to be the Avatar. I'm supposed to be the most powerful being in the universe.

The "scuffle" as the government calls it, has been going on for thirty years. Millions of people have died. The kind families that give me a place to stay for a few nights at a time tell me stories of the brave young men who go to war, but come back in a wooden coffin. They tell me how the Avatar is a coward and how he should come out from hiding to save us. It's makes me fell sick to know that they're talking about me. I know that all of the innocent blood is on my hands.

If they knew who I was though, they'd be furious. They'd taunt me. I don't want to think of what they would call me. They would be blinded with rage, I'm sure. They would think that I'm a coward. That I don't care about the lives of others.

That I'm heartless.

Here's my heart. Right there in the center of my chest beating on rhythm. I'll serve you my heart on a silver platter. You can look at it, examine in. Read me.

I'm just a kid. What am I supposed to do? I don't stay in one place long enough to make any really friends. And I have so many secrets that I'm sure no one would ever trust.

But in my heart, you'll find that I'm scared. I'm horrified. I have to save the world. I'm the last air bender. And I have to carry all that guilt with me. I wasn't there when my nation- my entire culture and history- was destroyed. When my friends and family were annihilated.

So for now I wait in hiding. I wait for the right chance to take the world back. To create peace for a new generation.

My heart is right there under my skin. But it hurts to know that I would be thought of like that. And those people wouldn't even know what they were talking about either. They don't know that a thirteen year old is supposed master all four elements and save them all.

They say that it's the Avatar- that it's my- destiny to stop the Fire Nation. They think that it's in my destiny. They think that it should be easy. But I know for a fact that it won't be.

Because destiny isn't carved in stone; it's written in sand.

0.o

**Oh. My. Gosh. That took me forever! I really hope you guys liked it. So, that was the prologue. The characters will meet each other later. And this is adventure and romance. You guys know what I ship! Please please drop me a line. Thanks! And happy summer! Over and out. **


	2. Street Rats

_Heartless_

Leaving.

According to Merriam-Webster, "leaving" means to depart or abandon. I suppose it's true; but I can never be certain.

I'm departing. I agree. The act of running away from home would definitely be departing. However, departing has such negative connotations. I don't think it would be so negative if Mr. Webster actually knew where and whom I was departing from. I'm departing from this hellhole I landed in. My home.

Am I… really abandoning this place? I'm leaving it behind for now, yes. But I couldn't actually be _abandoning_ it. It's not like I'm just leaving my parents behind to starve or anything of that sort. They'll be fine without me.

So I guess I only partially agree with the dictionary definition. The main problem I have with the summary of the word is that it captures no emotion or feeling at all. Did Merriam-Webster ever leave anything behind before? Do the people making this giant encyclopedia of words know what it feels like to pack your bags, knowing that you won't ever have to unpack? Or how it feels to crawl out of your window, and to know that there wasn't any note explaining where you're going?

Of course, I'm blind. I can't write. And a note about where I'm going?

I don't know where I'm going.

All I know is that -when I stepped outside of those walls and didn't have a second thought of going back- I had escaped.

My name is Toph Bei Fong. And I am free.

0.o

I'm a nice guy.

Really.

All I want is the Avatar. All I want is a lead. All I want is my honor.

"A lady in town said she found the Avatar," my uncle mused.

I looked at him blankly. "And we should believe what one of those filthy urchins say?"

"We _are _some of those filthy urchins."

I grunted. It was true after all, and I had no reasonable argument against his remark. My uncle and I had set up two of those fit-in-a-box pop-up tents in the middle of the woods near an Earth Kingdom town. We were sitting around a fire roasting whatever it was he had found. I couldn't quite tell what it was.

"Will I ever find him, uncle?"

He was silent for a while.

"I've discovered in my life," he began, "that when you are looking for one thing… you may find something completely different."

I sighed. His thoughts and sentiments would never make any sense to me. I'm looking for one thing, and one thing only. It was simple.

All was quiet in our campsite. I saw a spider- a daddy long leg- crawling up my pant leg.

I had always felt a particular connection to spiders. They weren't scary creatures, like everyone seems to view them as. They're just misunderstood. Spiders feel small. A spider can't squish you. People just like to pretend that these insects really _can_.

So I didn't kill the spider. I let it crawl onto my hand, and I set it down on the ground.

See, I really am a kind person.

My name is Zuko. And I am a liar.

0.o

Has it ever happened to you? When you just get this deep notion that sets in pit of your stomach. It's just such a powerful sensation that you almost feel nauseous. Have you ever just had a feeling that something incredible and amazing was going to happen to you?

Yeah, me neither.

Everything's always the same. My life is a broken record player. Cliché isn't it? Yet, oh so true. I feel like every week is just the repeat of the last.

"Katara, dear, come and wash up for dinner."

I sighed. My grandmother had made dinner ever since my mother's murder. And every single night it was ready at 4:26. Too early. And a bit creepy that it was always the exact same time- no matter what she was making, or who or how many people she was making it for.

As I walked towards my bathroom I looked outside to the Earth Kingdom. Even in winter it was hot. And other times like today, it would rain and make the streets muddy. It made me miss the Southern Water Tribe. I remember catching snowflakes on my tongue when I was little. Those memories seem so distant. I used to be able to look back at my life in vivid detail, but now I only can recall a single event… and everything else is a blur. I don't even remember the look in my mother's eyes when she comforted me. Nothing.

After cleaning my hands thoroughly, I dragged my feet down the stairs towards the kitchen. But there was nothing on the table.

"Katara."

I turned towards my grandmother.

"I was looking through my jewelry box today," she paused, "And I thought you might want this." She held out a betrothal necklace. It was a polished light blue rock with the Water Tribe insignia carved on it. The rock hung on black leather. "It was your mother's."

I looked at the piece of jewelry and felt my eyes begin to water. Without thinking, I shoved her hand back and ran towards the door. I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I needed to get out. Needed to leave for just a little while to sort out my feelings.

My grandmother's pleading voice echoed through my ears as I ran down the sidewalk. With tears streaming down my cheeks and mud splattered on my legs, I sprinted. After running what seemed like at least a mile, I stopped and sat down in an alley and sobbed into my hands.

"You just sat down in a puddle."

My head shot up. I looked around and saw a figure sitting on the opposite side of the alley.

"W-who, who-" Oh great; I couldn't even form a complete sentence.

"It's okay." I could tell that the person was a boy from their voice. He stood up and walked towards me. I shrunk back into the wall behind me. "It's okay," he repeated. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

He stood a few yards away from me, now, and was out of the shadows. He appeared to be around my age. He was incredibly skinny and average height. His hair was dark brown and his skin was pale. The clothes he wore were torn and soiled, and it didn't look like he had anything else with him.

"You, um," he scratched the back of his head, "sat in a puddle."

I looked down to wear I was sitting. As the boy has said, I was surrounded by murky water. I jumped up took one step back and leaned into the brick wall, hiccupping and crying. I'm sure the sight was pitiful to the stranger.

"Hey, hey. Its just mud. It'll wash out," he took a step forward.

I stared at him for a moment.

"I have a feeling it's not the mud," he said slowly.

"Congrats, genius," I choked out. Maybe over the years, I had picked up some of my brother's sarcasm.

A ghost of a frown graced his lips as he came closer towards me. "Come on, this place isn't the best spot to… erm, contemplate." I looked at him, pleased he hadn't said "best spot to _cry and look like an idiot_." There's a small notch in the alley a little further down. It should be dry," he continued.

At first I was hesitant to follow this boy I had met just minutes earlier. But he seemed nice and I could hold my own… just in case.

He walked down the narrow walkway. The towering buildings made me feel small. He turned into a very tiny space that seemed merely a large crack in the dry ice factory building. Inside the crevice was a small tarp with a heavy blanket laying on it. A box of matches sat in the very back on the hole. I'm lead to believe that this small cave in the side of a wall could only fit about six people- and maybe only four comfortably. I had to duck to get into it. The boy sat on one side of the tarp and invited me to sit next to him.

"Is-is this your home?" I asked softly, sitting down.

"For now, at least. It's tiny, but it keeps everything dry and warm. Sort of," he smirked, and stuck his hand out towards me. "My name's Aang."

I took his hand hesitantly. "Katara."

"So what's a girl like you doing in…eh," he looked around the alley and turned back towards me, "hell?"

I sniffed and brought my sleeve up to my face. "I-I'm not running away if that's what you're wondering. I just- I needed to get away from my house for a while."

He frowned a little. "Can't say I know the feeling."

I looked at him confused. "What do you-"

Aang interrupted my question. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

So there I was – sharing my life story with a total and complete stranger.

And he was silent throughout, nodding occasionally to let me know he was listening. He looked at me with compassion. He looked at me… like my mother had, so long ago. And the memories and the smiles and the joy flooded into my head.

My name is Katara. And I remember.

0.o

** Oh wow.. so I haven't updates in about forever. So so so sorry guys. I suppose this could be your New Years present or something. Hope you all had awesome holidays. Review to let me know if you want me to continue. I didn't add Aang or Sokka's point of view in this chapter cause it was gonna be really long, and I figured I should probably get a chapter up.. heh.. well, please review. Thanks! Over and out.**


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